Multiple collisions, including another fatal, along Highway 11 Wednesday have heightened concern about winter road safety in Northern Ontario.

“The number of accidents and the severity was like a punch in the gut,” said Timiskaming-Cochrane NDP MPP John Vanthof.

He said Wednesday's weather didn't seem especially poor, noting many people in his riding were surprised by the reports of collisions and the subsequent highway closure between North Bay and New Liskeard.

“It wasn't nice weather but it wasn't a blizzard,” said Vanthof. “Yesterday shocked us all.”

A man was killed in one of the crashes, which occurred shortly before noon just south of Earlton, involving a northbound tractor-trailer and a southbound five-ton flatbed.

On social media, Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus warned motorists to stay off of Northern highways, advising of the Highway 11 closure and serious accidents at Matheson, Earlton, Temagami and north of Bracebridge.

“People in northeastern Ontario are four times more likely to die in highway accidents than other parts of the province,” wrote Angus. “Two lanes of Highway 11 and Highway 17 are the truckers' highway for goods across this country and yet privatized road maintenance, a lack of proper public transit and narrow twisting highways leave too many people at risk. We need to work across the North for better infrastructure and services for our residents.”

Vanthof said he was planning to meet Thursday with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Ministry of Transportation (MTO) representatives, as well as a citizens' group to discuss the latest spate of accidents.

The MPP, who's been outspoken about the need for improved highway maintenance in the North, said he's looking for answers about any common factors that may have contributed to the collisions.

“We've got to get to the bottom of this,” said Vanthof, noting driving habits, road conditions or the sudden change in weather from blistering cold to warmer temperatures all could have played a part.

He said identifying common factors will be key in developing and pushing forward with measures to help make Highway 11 and other Northern roads safer.

Vanthof said highway maintenance in the North has been a significant and ongoing concern since he was first elected in 2011. And he believes that contracts with private companies should be changed so the MTO plays a more active role in managing how highways are maintained.

As it stands now, he said, contractors who fail to meet standards set out by the MTO could face fines or levies. But Vanthof said the MTO does not make the frontline decisions about when, where and how the plows and other equipment hit the roads.

In the medium to long term, he said, construction dollars are required for improvements that will make Northern highways safer and quicker for travel.

Vanthof noted that there are some stretches along Highway 11 and other roadways where there have been multiple accidents over multiple years.

And, he said, there's been a commitment from Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca to look at one such stretch south of Temagami where a fatal collision involving two transports occurred last month.

In Nipissing, where two people were killed in a collision Thursday morning on Highway 17 in East Ferris, Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli questioned why winter roads continue to be an issue, especially further north.

“Why are we still seeing these issues?” he asked, noting

pressure from the Tories saw the auditor general look into winter highway maintenance several years ago, resulting in a number of recommendations.

Fedeli agreed that long-term infrastructure improvements will help to make Northern highways safer.

And he suggested measures such as additional passing lanes would be a good first step. Fedeli also pointed to the safe texting zones that he has proposed in a private member's bill as an easy-to-implement initiative.

He said the idea of installing signs to alert drivers about upcoming areas where they can safely pull over to text would help to spread the message about the dangers of texting wile driving. Fedeli said winter driving can be treacherous enough with the added risk of looking at your phone.

“It's a very simple fix for something that causes a tremendous amount of deaths,” he said.

Fedeli said he has accompanied PC Leader Patrick Brown on a Northern tour each winter and suggested other provincial politicians need to experience winter driving on Northern highways.

In the meantime, he advised, motorists drive according to conditions and make sure to get winter tires.

“I'm still surprised a how many people don't switch over,” he said, noting drivers who use winter tires now get a break on insurance.